Avatar: Benders Rebellion
by Obrusnine
Summary: Three years ago, Korra wondered about her past life. She asks Katara for a story, and Katara responds with the story of the Benders Rebellion. 2000 years ago, Benders were enslaved and darkness ruled, and this is the story of the Avatar who stopped it.
1. Prologue: The Storyteller

**So, I've been watching Avatar for a very long time. I've been deliberating for quite a while at whether or not I should take a stab at Avatar fanfiction, so I finally decided to just do it.**

**This part of the story takes place 3 years before The Legend of Korra began. Korra has mastered Waterbending, and is currently training Earthbending. But, that's not really relevant, just thought I should mention it. Anyways, I decided I shouldn't just jump right into the main story. So I had Katara give us our opening. I'm also going to maintain this small sub-plot between Korra and Katara throughout the story.**

**Anyways, I say with fair warning that this is a pretty dark story. It's going to really stretch the T rating, but I'll try and keep it from going to off the deep-end. This story deals with a very dark time, so in order to get it across, some pretty messed up stuff is going to happen. Katara starts off the dark things near the end of this chapter, but I just wanted to give warning.**

**Anyways, let's begin shall we. **

**Avatar: Benders Rebellion**

**Prologue: The Storyteller**

"_Aang…" Katara said in the darkness. The sound of her own voice seemed to be everywhere at once. "Aang, where are you?" _

_There was no response._

"_Aang… please, where are you?" She called. _

She woke with a start, sweating profusely, and sitting up as fast as her old bones would allow. She felt into the bed beside her for that familiar form that always lay beside her, but it was not there.

Katara almost called out in panic, and then her memory returned. He was dead, and she was alone. Her old ears picked up the sound of a snowstorm outside of her small igloo. She lay back down, hoping that her sleep would not be disturbed by the nightmares again.

It had been almost fourteen years since he had passed, but here she was, still wondering where he had gone.

_**The Next Morning**_

She woke for the fifth time, and saw sunlight cascading through the folds of the cloth that made up her tents door. She stood, and dressed, and then left the igloo. She stepped into the sunlight to find that the snowstorm of last night had increased how deep her feet sunk into the snow.

She moved her hand slightly, melting the snow with her water bending and walked towards the icy gates that lead out of the small village.

"Master Katara?" Came a voice from behind her. She turned to find Korra running up to her with Naga bounding up behind her.

"Hello Korra." She replied.

"Where are you going?" Korra asked.

"Just for a walk." Katara replied.

"You shouldn't… you're um…" Korra grinned and scratched her head. Naga pushed his head under her arm and Korra hugged his head and scratched it without looking away from Katara's direction.

"It's alright; you can say I'm old." Katara said. "After all, I am. I can handle it Korra, no need to worry about me."

Korra flushed. Katara put her hand on Korra's shoulder and smiled warmly.

"You can come with me if you like."

Korra hesitated for a moment, looking back towards the small temple.

"Do not worry; I know you are supposed to be at your Earthbending training." Katara said. "If you wish to accompany me, I will make sure you don't get in trouble."

"Thanks…" Korra said. "I'd love to come along."

Korra pointed at Naga and then at the place where he coops up. He ran off.

"Rather be alone hm?" Katara asked.

"There are um… some things I want to ask you about." Korra said biting her lip. Katara laughed softly.

"I hardly know what I could help you with, considering you have already mastered your waterbending." Katara said.

Korra didn't say anything else, glancing up at the guard tower where the White Lotus guard watched.

"Do not mind him; he cannot hear us from all the way up there." Katara said.

"Still… can we get moving?" Korra asked. "I'm sorry, I forgot…"

She trailed off.

"Don't worry, your right, let's go."

Katara and Korra walked through the gates and started walked across the snowy wasteland. After a few minutes, the White Lotus town was out of view. Still, Korra remained silent.

"We are all alone now child, what is it you wished to speak about?" Katara asked.

"It's just…" Korra started. "I'm not sure what to do."

Katara placed her hand on Korra's shoulder; it was not often she saw her like this. Korra was usually brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, and always willing to learn. Now Katara knew why she had been acting embarrassed, because she didn't want others to know that she was unsure of herself. Korra felt like it was her duty to always know the right thing to do as the avatar.

"About what dear?" Katara asked.

"Ever since I was little… all of you had told me that, whether or not I like it, I have to connect with the spiritual world… connect with my past lives. But I've never been able to do it." Korra said. "What if I'm never able to?"

"It's part of being the Avatar child, do not worry… it will come to you in time." Katara said.

"I wish I could talk to them now, so they could guide me, tell me how this is supposed to work." Korra said.

"When Aang first went to The Spirit World, it was not by choice. He was… pulled there by a Spirit seeking vengeance for its destroyed forest." Katara said. "My husband was raised by the Air Nomads, he was always spiritual and free…"

"Is there a point to this?" Korra said.

"At least let me finish child." Katara said smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Korra said blushing.

"My point was that even he had problems going to the Spirit World. You weren't raised like he was, so you're going to have difficulty with it even more than he did." Katara said.

"You know, I've heard the story of how you all saved the world over and over again as I grew up. I really wish I could speak to him…" She trailed off here as Katara frowned. "I… I'm sorry."

"It's alright child… even after all this time, I just can't forget about him." Katara said.

"If… if I ever am able to talk with him. I'll make sure to ask if he has anything he wants to say to you." Korra said. Katara let a tear run down her cheek as she hugged Korra.

"Thank you dear." Katara said. Initially, Korra was unsure of what to do, but then she hugged her back.

"You're welcome." Korra said. Katara released Korra from their embrace and they kept walking for a time. Korra broke the silence soon after.

"I… I was wondering. I've heard all about Aang, but what about my other past lives? Did he ever tell you about any of them?" Korra said. "Maybe understanding them will help me come to a better understanding of myself."

"You are quite wise Korra." Katara said. "Aang always thought so about those with willingness to learn from the past. He indeed did tell me many stories of his past lives. But, I find one quite more interesting than most. Scary, but interesting, with many lessons throughout."

"Tell me!" Korra demanded excitedly. "Oops, sorry."

Katara laughed as Korra grinned and scratched her head while blushing.

"Of course child, I will tell you of it quite gladly." Katara said. "It was very long ago…"

"You see Korra; today… bending is part of our lives. Something natural to every part of the world, no matter where you are from… But there was a time when Bending was feared by those who could not do it." Katara said.

"But why would they fear us? We don't threaten them, bending is the coolest!" Korra said.

Katara laughed.

"Child, they feared Bending because it can be used for evil. It's power is unmatched by any other force on the planet. You should remember that, you need to use your powers responsibly."

Korra rolled her eyes. Katara shook her head and continued.

"Anyways, they feared Bending so much, they used their superior numbers to put down the Benders and enslave them. Controlling them and stopping them, because they feared that they would exterminate all non-benders given the chance." Katara said.

"That's ridiculous; no one would ever believe that." Korra said.

"As I said Korra, it was a very long time ago. People let their fear control their believes." Katara said. "You will notice this lot. It's something I realized myself as we journeyed across the world all those years ago. When you have stricken fear so harshly into the hearts of others, more times than not, they will let the fear control them.

"Back then, the world feared Bending."

"But what about the Avatar? Surely he or she helped everyone, and he or she made them see that they were wrong!" Korra replied.

"Sadly, the Avatar was as much caught up in this as the rest of the Benders. Because they knew that killing the Avatar would just reincarnate them, they were kept in cells deep under the Earth under heavy guard at all times. The male Avatar's were tortured, beaten, and torn of their hope… the female ones, even worse." Katara said.

"What could possibly be worse…?" Korra whispered.

"You are too young." Katara said, and then she continued. "All of the Benders were torn of hope. When Aang told me of this story, it reminded me of what the Fire Nation did to one of the Earth Nation towns we passed through when we were younger. They took all of the Earthbenders and put them on a ship. Made them work, took their hope from them. I could barely imagine a world full of benders like that. But it was true."

Korra remained silent, obviously horrified at the implications.

"When the Avatar they held prisoner finally… passed. They would hunt down the new one, take them from their parents, and make them live the same life as the others that they imprisoned. Some families tried to hide their child if it turned out there was even a possibility that they were the Avatar. All of them failed, several children were hunted down and dragged away from their families regardless." Katara said.

"It's just… really hard to grasp a world like that." Korra replied.

"Don't worry; it was for me at first to." Katara said. "But, as you can probably guess. The cycle ended at some point."

"When? How?" Korra asked eagerly.

"An event called the Bender Rebellions." Katara said. "We should head back, how about I continue to tell you the story on the way? We can talk over dinner."

"I would like that Master Katara." Korra said bowing and smiling.

**Done, I'll make more chapters if feedback is good. So if you want more, R-E-V-I-E-W REVIEW! :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Escape

**Okay, so I know I said I would post more based on feedback, but all of those idiotic romance fics after yesterday's episode came on knocked me to the bottom of the page. **

**I say idiotic because I'm angry at how many people support MakoXKorra instead of BolinXKorra. Bolin is far better for her in my opinion… ridiculously so…**

**Anyways, let's get to what you really came here for. Oh, and Katara is always the one telling the story here. The part where her dialogue is in italics is like the spot where the camera shifts to look at her instead of the events happening before.**

**Avatar: Benders Rebellion**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Escape**

* * *

Korra and Katara slowly back towards the White Lotus town before Katara cleared her throat and resumed her story.

"The story I speak of started 2,000 years ago…" She said.

_**2000 Years Ago**_

"_A pleasant family in the Earth Nation had just had their first child."_

"Come on honey, you have to push!" A man said, holding his wife's hand. The woman lay on the bed below him, breathing harshly.

"I am pushing!" She screamed at him. A doctor was standing near the end of the bed encouraging her. They were in a small wooden room.

In the end, she gave one final heave, and the doctor stood up holding the baby. The umbilical was severed and her baby was wrapped in blankets before being handed to his father. Because it had been discovered it was a boy.

He held him tenderly, smiling and rocking him for a little bit before handing him to his mother.

"_They loved that child with all their hearts. They cared for him for the next years. But, at the age of three… something happened." _

The small child was playing in the garden one day.

"_But… what was his name?" Korra asked._

"_Oh, I did forget to mention that didn't I?" Katara replied. "His name was Daru." _

"_That… name feels so familiar." Korra responded._

"_Yes, of course, but on with the story." _

As I was saying, little Daru was playing in the garden one day. He found a rock, and he tried to climb it… but found that he couldn't. His father attempted to come over and help him, but as he did, Daru punched the rock and it went flying into the forest.

"_So he was an Earthbender?" Korra said. _

"_Yes." Katara answered. _

Because of this discovery, they labored to teach him to control his bending… to hide it. Back then, they could not find him an Earthbending teacher, as all of them were enslaved lower-class citizens, so they taught him entirely through historical texts.

"_That's no way to learn how to bend…" Korra said._

"_No, it wasn't. But they did what they could."_

Eventually, he learned what his parents told him he must… to hide his bending from those around him. They wanted him to stop it all together, but…

"_It was a part of him." Korra finished. _

"_Yes." Katara replied._

He would go deep into the forest and practice his Earthbending far from civilization. Although, their house was already far… But, three years after he discovered he could Earthbend… something else happened.

"_What?" Korra asked as they walked through the gates back into town._

He was eating soup one day, and he accidentally tasted it when it was too hot for him. His throat burned hot, and as his parents rushed to help him, he breathed fire and the roof caught fire.

"_He breathed fire? Firebending!" Korra asked. "So he was the Avatar! That's why that name was so familiar!" _

"_Indeed Korra, he was one of your past lives." Katara replied._

"_But… what happened to their house?" _

Well Korra, Daru was so scared of what might happen, his emotions flared up so much, that he entered for the first time… the Avatar State.

"_I… I've heard of it, seen pictures. I could…" Korra said._

"_Never picture yourself like that?" Katara finished for her. Korra shook her head. "I understand that child. The first time I saw Aang go into the Avatar state, he was in so much rage and pain… I remember how much it scared me. But our friendship overcame that."_

_Korra let her head fall. Katara put her hand on Korra's shoulder as they stepped inside of the house. _

"_Don't worry Korra, you should never become like that. If you ever did, I'm sure you'd have some friends by your side that would do the same thing I did for Aang all those years ago." Katara said._

"_Well, it's kind of hard to find friends when you're locked up and sheltered in the South Pole for all your life." Korra responded. _

_Korra followed Katara as she went into the kitchen. _

"_I will cook for us today. Why don't you give us some privacy?" Katara said to the cooks. They bowed and left._

"_Are you sure Katara?" Korra asked._

"_Of course." Katara said._

"_Thank you…" Korra said. She knew that Katara had done what she had so that Korra didn't have to discuss anything around other people. Katara started to bend down towards the cabinets to get a pot to find that it was difficult for her, but she persevered. _

"_Ah!" She said as her back cracked. She stood back up. _

"_Are you alright?" Korra asked rubbing her back. _

"_I'm fine…" Katara said. "A lot of things aren't as easy as they used to be…" _

"_Let me help you." Korra said as she retrieved some pots from the cabinet. _

"_Then we will do it together." Katara said. Korra set the pots on the stove. _

"_So… what are we making?" Korra asked. _

"_Let's be creative." Katara said. She assumed a stance and moved her hand downward in the direction of the sink. Water emerged and using bending, Katara made it come to her. Korra grinned and helped. They started bending in sync, first making the water fly towards the rice barrel. It dug into it and rice mixed with water came out. _

_They then ran the water and rice through some spices and deposited it in a pot on the stove. _

_Katara called more water and they repeated the process for noodles, using different spices. Korra then walked up to the stove and used Firebending to light it. _

"_You've been practicing." Katara said. _

"_I see you haven't lost your touch either." Korra replied. Katara walked up beside her._

"_I don't mean with your Waterbending." She said. _

"_Oh, the Firebending?" Korra said. "I know my training with it hasn't started yet, but I've been practicing a little. It's always come more naturally to me than the other elements."_

"_I see. It's because you are brash and confident child." Katara said._

"_Well, yea, I am at that." Korra said grinning. "Well, it looks like we have a few minutes. What about getting back to the story?" _

"_Of course." Katara said. "Like I was saying, he went into the Avatar State."_

But instead of putting the fire out, he struck out. Air started surging away from him. It started tearing apart the house and spreading the fire. Then he dragged water from the spring outside through the windows. It tore some of the ceiling apart and doused the fire. Then he just began striking out randomly in all directions with his bending.

His parents went up to him and tried to calm him, but he didn't stop. They were thrown out of the house, and then he unleashed his Firebending, and the entire house was decimated in an explosion.

"_I've heard that an Avatar's… my… bending gets fearfully strong in the Avatar state." Korra said._

"_That's very much true; I've experienced it myself multiple times. Sometimes, the Avatar has control, but most of the time, they are just rampant with anger and rage. Aang always had enough control that he never harmed us, but Aang told me of a few Avatar's who killed their friends or family when they entered it…" Katara said. _

"_No one has ever told me, what is the Avatar state?" Korra asked._

"_Aang told me what Roku told him. He said that the glow, the one that your eyes get when you enter the Avatar state, represents all past Avatar's concentrating their experience, knowledge, and skill through you." Katara said. "Sokka always said that they went crazy with it because it ended up putting too much strain on the noggin."_

"_How is Sokka? He hasn't come to visit in a while." Korra asked. "I know you love it when he does."_

"_Yes… I do." Katara said. "He's been up in Republic City, using his genius to improve their lives as usual. He's always had that spark of ingenuity." _

"_Yea, you told me." Korra said. "He helped invent those war balloons and submarines back during your day."_

"_Indeed he did." Katara said. _

But back to the story… after the explosion, his parents had to fend off the authorities by saying Firebenders had attacked them. Roving bands of freedom fighting benders were common back then. They had to build a new house, and after finding out what he had done, Daru swore that he would do everything he could to control his emotions in the future.

"_You said he was only six at this time?" Korra asked._

Yes, but he was very wise for his age. He kept studying from books, trying to do his best to master his bending. He also tried very hard to stay calm. But eight years later, he was a teenager.

"_My age…" Korra said._

Indeed. But anyways, his emotions became much harder to control. He didn't go into the Avatar State again, but he came very close many times. Eventually deciding it was too much, he left his home, telling his parents he would return, and found passage to the Eastern Air Temple.

There, he studied with non-bender Air Nomads to master his emotions. A year passed before he was able to boast control and stoicism when it was needed. They never knew he was the Avatar, but he had a tattoo of the air nation branded on his hand, and he returned home.

"Hello." He said as he approached the house he had spent so much of his childhood in. His parents rushed out, hugged him. "Mom… Dad… I missed you both so much."

"We missed you to son." They both responded. It was a very happy family reunion moment.

"_I bet…" Korra said smiling. _

Anyways, it was not to last. A week passed, and then they came.

"_They?" Korra asked. _

The Bending police serving the Emperor of the Earth Nation... It turned out, when the explosion had occurred so much time ago, someone had been there watching. He had come across hard times recently; he needed money, so he reported them.

They had been watching Daru, and saw him practicing his Bending.

They had come to take Daru away, to lock him up as the Avatar.

"_No…" Korra said._

A knock came at the door, Daru's mother answered. Parents of the Avatar were considered impure; they killed her on the spot with their weapons. His father rushed to her air, and they threw in small bombs. Daru used Firebending to blow a hole in the side of their house. He grabbed his father and they leaped out and fell into the spring.

"_Oh… oh my god…" Korra said._

As they tried to stand, the house exploded behind them. It threw fire and pieces of burning wood all over the place. Suddenly, an Archer was before them, he tried to shoot Daru's father.

He used Waterbending, kicking upward and swinging his leg back down in a maneuver that sliced the arrow in two. Then he used Earthbending, sending the archer flying. They tried to run for the forest, but more Archers shot their arrows at them unexpectedly.

Daru was to slow this time. The arrows struck his father, and he died in Daru's arms. But still, he controlled his emotions. When the soldiers came after him, he tried to fight. He jabbed at them with weak Firebending, sent them flying with weak Airbending… tried to hurt them with Earthbending, tried to freeze them with Waterbending.

It wasn't enough; these soldiers were used to fighting professional Benders. The Avatar had learned from books and second-hand experience. They took him down easily.

He finally let go of his emotions. He entered the Avatar State, he blew them all away with all forms of Bending, and then he ran. He escaped.

"_I… I think that's enough for now child." Katara said. _

_Korra nodded._

"_I… just can't believe that anything like that would ever happen." She replied. _

"_I know, but the food is done now." Katara said. "Why don't we eat? After that… you look tired, you should go get some sleep."_

"_I… I'll do that. Thank you Master Katara." Korra said distracted._

* * *

**There's another chapter now. Hopefully now I don't get bumped down to the bottom of the page again so you guys can actually review my story. I hope you liked it, even how morbid and dark it is here, hahahaha**

**Remember to review if you ever want me to write anymore, *wink*  
**


	3. Chapter 2: Storytimes End

**Hey everyone! Positive feedback, so continue I will, *wink* **

**Check on the bottom for responses to your reviews, ^^**

**Also, even though I originally intended Korra/Katara stuff to be a sub-plot… I've realized that the two are actually co-existing main plots. **

**Oh, and Orrin is the White Lotus boss guy with the white hair from "Welcome to Republic City". You know, that guy that says "Avatar Aang put us here to protect you!" **

**Lee Latong is the guy in the Fire Nation uniform standing the fourth guy from the right and the left guy from Katara when Korra is taking her Firebending exam.**

**I didn't know their real names, so I just made some up.**

**You can also now find responses to your reviews at the bottom of this page.**

**To the story.**

* * *

**Avatar: Benders Rebellion**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Storytimes End**

* * *

_They ate in silence as Korra wondered over everything she had heard and Katara watched her. Korra played with her food in silence. After a while, she looked up._

"_You know, I think I can take hearing a bit more." She said. "In fact, I know it."_

"_If that is your wish, we will continue." Katara replied._

Well, after Daru fled into the forest. He had to spend a lot of time hunting using his bending and scrounging for food. But, for a while before he did that… he wandered aimlessly. He was to sick and depressed to do anything else.

Every time he tried to eat, he would puke as memories of his mother's cooking returned to him. He tried to cut wood, but every time he attempted it he would remember his father hard at work.

"_Well, I'm sure his sleeping bag was enough." Korra said hopefully._

Unfortunately Korra, he didn't have one. All of his possessions were destroyed during the attack from the Earth Nation Dai Lee.

"_Wait, the ones who attacked them were Dai Lee?" Korra asked._

"_Indeed Korra, didn't I mention it?" Katara asked. Korra shook her head. "Well, you know what they say. First thing that goes with age is your hearing, the second your memory…" _

"_I see Master Katara." Korra said._

"_What did you say? I didn't hear you." _

_Korra scowled. Katara laughed._

Anyways, without his sleeping bag, he would sleep in the cold dark of night on the hard ground. He would look at the stars and have nothing to do but remember, he would try to sleep and was disturbed by nightmares.

"_You know, I remember one time… before our invasion of the Fire Nation on The Day of Black Sun…" Katara said. "I was worried about Aang, he couldn't sleep. He was having nightmares about the Fire Lord. We worked all night shaving sheep and putting together a bed for him, and then reassuring him. He went almost 4 days with little to no sleep."_

"_Wow, I didn't think Aang was ever scared of anything." Korra said._

"_Aang was scared of a great many things Korra." Katara said. "Unfortunately, we cannot all be like you, fearless in the face of danger."_

_Korra didn't say anything. _

"_You should know it's alright to be afraid Korra." _

"_But… I'm supposed to be fearless, to make sure everyone can count on me…" Korra said.  
"It's my duty as the Avatar, isn't it? To give people hope?" _

"_That brings to mind another time, after Aang woke up from getting shocked by Azula. He didn't like it that the world thought he was dead, he thought it was his duty to give people hope."_

_Korra looked at her._

"_You have to realize what he did…" Katara began._

"_What?" Korra asked. _

"_That sometimes, even being the Avatar, you have to take care of yourself to keep everyone else safe." _

"_But… that doesn't make sense!" Korra said standing up angrily. _

"_Korra, there are some things that you're going to have to realize as the Avatar." Katara said. "This is one of them."_

"_I… I won't accept that. I'm going to bed." Korra said. She stormed over to the shifting panel to go outside and threw it open, she looked back for a split second, then stepped through and slammed it shut behind her. Katara shook her head and stood up. _

_She walked over to the panel and slid it open a crack. Korra was walking away with her hands in her pockets, and Katara almost swore she could see tears in her eyes. _

* * *

_**The Next Morning**_

"Do you know where Korra is? She didn't show up for her Earthbending training yesterday, and I haven't seen her this morning." Said Lon Leifang, Korra's Earthbending teacher from the Order of the White Lotus. "The guards told me she was walking with you yesterday when she should've been with me."

"Relax Lon; there was something we needed to talk about." Katara said. She was sitting at a table alongside all of Korra's other teachers and mentors.

"Why was it critical to pull her out of her training to 'talk to her' about something? Hm?" He said pointing at her.

"You had better cool it Lon, watch who you are speaking to like that. She probably has a perfectly good explanation, so why don't you let her speak?" Lee Latong, Korra's future Firebending teacher, said.

Katara laughed. They both looked at her in anger.

"What's so funny?" They both asked her.

"You told him to cool it, but you're a Firebender." Katara said grinning. They both looked astonished for a moment and then scowled. "Anyways, Lee is right, I do have an explanation. I'm an old woman; you should give me some time to recall."

"Would you two settle down, let's get back to the discussion at hand." Orrin said.

"But… ugh, never mind." Lee said.

"Anyways Katara, why did you keep Korra from her Earthbending training?" Orrin asked.

"Korra is confused, she's a teenager. As much as it sounds unlike her, she is doubting herself, and she doesn't know her role as the Avatar." Katara said. "She came to me looking for help in clearing that up."

"That is a perfectly reasonable explanation, now don't you have something to say to Katara Lon?" Orrin asked. He burst up slamming his hands into the table in a fit of rage at being referred to like a child. Orrin glared at him, and he glared back, but he eventually backed down.

"I am sorry… Katara." He said grating his teeth.

"I thought so." Orrin said.

"But, anyways, back to my original question. Where is Korra?" Lon asked.

"She stormed out on me last night after I told her something that she wasn't very comfortable with…" Katara said. "I haven't seen her since."

"Neither have any of us." Orrin said.

"I'll go check up on her." Katara said. She stood up and left. She went to the place where Korra slept. The room was empty.

She went to the place where Naga stayed, and she wasn't there either, and Naga was gone.

She walked outside and asked the guards if they had seen her. They told her that she had left last night to go to her parents.

Katara was starting to get worried, she left the small compound and walked the short distance to Korra's parent's home, sometimes she would sleep there. She arrived after a short walk, and was disturbed to see that the pen where Naga slept was empty. Hopefully, she had decided to bring Naga with her to sleep.

She knocked, and Korra's mother Senna answered.

"Oh, Katara. How are you? Did you come to get Korra?" She asked her.

"Yes, is she here?" Katara asked.

"Well, she was last time I checked." Senna asked.

"She's going to be late for her Earthbending training if she doesn't hurry."

"Korra!" Senna called. There was no answer. Tonraq, Korra's father, was sitting on the ground reading a book.

"Korra! Korra are you there!" Senna called again before turning back to Katara. "Hm, that's odd."

"Korra, respond when your mother speaks to you." Tonraq said in the direction of Korra's room. There was still no response.

Senna turned back towards Katara.

"Well, why don't you come in?" Senna said. Katara followed her as she walked towards Korra's bedroom door. "She did come in looking rather sad, angry, and conflicted last night. I tried to get her to tell me, but she wouldn't say anything… she just went to her room."

Senna opened the door to Korra's room.

"Korra… Oh." Korra's bed was empty and Naga was nowhere to be seen. "Huh, she must've left before we got up. Are you sure she wasn't back at the compound?"

Katara shook her head. Then she spotted a piece of paper on Korra's desk.

"Hm, what's that?" Katara said. She stepped into the room and went over to the piece of paper. It was a message from Korra. She read it through quickly. "Oh, that's not good."

She handed it to Senna. She read it and started crying after gasping and putting her hand over her mouth.

"Sh-she didn't even say goodbye…" Senna started to say. Tonraq walked up behind her.

"Huh, where's Korra?" He asked. Senna turned around and looked at him with her tearful eyes. "What is it?"

She handed him the note, he read it over. She hugged him close to her crying into his shoulder.

"We need to send out a search party." He said immediately.

"We should wait a bit first; we need to give her time to sort out her feelings for herself." Katara said.

"Look, I respect you a lot, I understand that you're old and wise… but you know what? My daughter ran away, and we're in the middle of the South Pole, and there is a snowy wasteland miles around. She's never been very far away from this compound; she could get lost and freeze to death. So guess what? I'm sending out a search party." Tonraq said. He thrust the note into Katara's hand, and then he stormed out leaving Senna with Katara.

Katara shook her head, and she hugged Senna and gave her a shoulder to cry on.

"It's okay…" Katara said. She lifted up the sheet of paper and read from it.

'_Mom… Dad… I'm sorry I had to leave without telling you. But I need to leave. I need to find myself by myself. I'm not learning anything about how I'm supposed to protect the world or help it cooped up here in this prison. _

_I'm sorry you had to learn like this, but I know you would've stopped me. _

_Tell Master Katara… I know she was wrong, and that I'm sorry for leaving her like this as well. Perhaps we'll finish the story another time._

_-Korra'_

After comforting Senna for a reasonable while, she bid her farewell and followed Tonraq back to the compound where he went to send out a White Lotus search party looking for her. He walked in on the rest of the leaders and Tonraq having a conversation.

"…should've seen this coming!" Said Tonraq. "You all should've seen this coming! You watch her every day, you train her every day, and you didn't notice she was feeling that this place was inadequate?"

"Look, there was no warning." Lon said. "Korra trusts Katara more than anyone, and she didn't say anything that would indicate this, did she Katara?"

"No, she did not. I didn't think she would go this far at all." Katara said.

"It's your responsibility to…!" Tonraq began to say.

"It's your responsibility to!" Lee said. The entire thing degenerated into an argument. A few seconds past.

"Enough!" Katara shouted angrily. "Is bickering like hapless _children _really helping anyone? Korra is gone, and you all have to deal with it."

"Katara is right, we need to find Korra." Orrin said.

"I never said that." Katara said. "We need to leave her alone! She will come back of her own accord _when she is ready!_"

"What makes you think she will come back?" Orrin asked.

"Yes, she's a teenager with rampant emotions. But Korra is also smart, and she trusts me and her parents." Katara said. "She needs time by herself to realize all of the things we've been telling her for years. She needs time to clarify her own perception of how being the Avatar works! All you all do is try to shove everything down her throat!"

"That's not fair…" Lon said.

"What? Because it's true?" Katara said. "She's confused; she needs guides like us… yes. But she also needs to be able to find balance within herself. Korra finally has the chance to be alone, and to do that. You all want to take it away from her!"

"We see where you're coming from Katara." Orrin said. "But not like this."

"I cannot recommend this course of action." Katara said.

"I'm sorry about that Katara, but you are just going to have to deal with that." Orrin said. Katara shook her head, and she left, hoping that they didn't find Korra before she found herself.

* * *

**Excellent chapter if I do say so myself! Sorry about the severe lack of Bender Rebellion content in this chapter. Trying to balance the two stories at once is hard. But I felt that dealing with this part of the plot first was a good idea. Still, I like to think you enjoy both plots immensely. **

**Remember to review!**

**Anyways, Reader Responses time.**

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**acidRain14: I'm glad you feel that way! That's what I was going for. Katara was always just so much of a storyteller for me. How she introduced each episode and how Jenora asked for her to tell a story in "Welcome to Republic City" just emphasized it. I hope you liked this chapter to, remember to toss me a review, *wink* **

**jedwardm: I indeed have decided to continue this story and I'm glad you feel it's well written. After all, that was what I was going for. Thanks for the GOOD FEEDBACK.**


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